David A. Coughlin

First Vice Chairman, House Committee on Rules

Member, House Committee on Judiciary

Member, House Committee on Municipal Government

David A. Coughlin (D) was first elected in November 2014 to the House of Representatives from District 60, Pawtucket. He serves as the first vice-chairman of the House Committee on Rules and is a member of both the House Committee on Judiciary and the House Committee on Municipal Government.

Representative Coughlin was the lead sponsor on a 2017 bill, which became law, that will allow people to automatically register to vote when applying for a driver's license, its renewal or a personal identification document.

During the 2016 session, Representative Coughlin was the sponsor of successful legislation that allows Rhode Island residents who are victims of a domestic terrorist attack outside Rhode Island to receive compensation from the state’s Crime Victims Compensation Fund. Representative Coughlin was also the sponsor of successful legislation to establish the Rhode Island Clean Diesel Fund, which awards grants to local freight trucks for making environmentally friendly upgrades. He also sponsored laws that modernized election equipment in 2016 and amended the Rhode Island Health Information Exchange Act to ensure certain family members and caregivers have access to pertinent patient medical information.

During his freshman year in office, Representative Coughlin sponsored a law that now allows election mail ballot applications to serve as an affirmation form for inactive voters.

Before being elected to the House, Representative Coughlin served as a member of the Pawtucket School Committee from 2006 to 2014.

An attorney in private practice, he graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Central Falls in 1968, received his Bachelor’s degree from Providence College in 1972 and his Master's degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1978. He obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth School of Law in 1992.

Representative Coughlin has four children, David III, Ashley, Michael and Kevin, and three grandchildren.